Notes From the Clubhouse: Red Sox Nation Gasps as Josh Beckett's Start Is Pushed Back

Our MLB editor provides weekly dispatches from major league games in Notes From the Clubhouse.

The Red Sox have decided to push back Josh Beckett's next turn in the rotation to Tuesday because the pitcher is feeling some tingling and numbness in his throwing arm.

Manager Terry Francona said the 2007 ALCS and 2003 World Series MVP slept on his throwing arm awkwardly on Saturday night. He started Sunday against the Blue Jays, allowing eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in arguably his worst performance in a Red Sox uniform.

Francona indicated that the decision to push Beckett back from Saturday at Toronto to Tuesday at New York was more precautionary than anything else.

"It's not something we're real worried about, we just don't want to do something rash," said Francona. "If we let him pitch just because he's a good pitcher and he will pitch, I just don't think that makes much sense."

The ace's usual side sessions were postponed a few days as a result of the tingling and the team wanted to put him on a normal throwing schedule in between starts.

For Beckett's part, he sounds a little more concerned. "Anytime it's something with your arm ... especially with a pitcher, you think the worst," said the pitcher. But he went on to say that club officials have assured him the numbness isn't anything to worry about long-term.

Beckett has been outperformed, at least on a results basis, by both Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka, but there's no doubt Boston will need him at his best to secure a playoff spot and succeed should they get to the postseason. So how worried should Red Sox fans be?

It's an arm injury, so I wouldn't brush it off entirely, but given the way Boston has handled these types of situations over the last few seasons, it doesn't seem like something that should keep folks in New England up at night.

The Red Sox are perhaps the most cautious team of any when it comes to their hurlers, constantly testing the arm strength of their pitchers throughout the season, and completely unafraid of giving their starters a break in the middle of the season. Indeed, you can make a good case that Beckett's trip to the disabled list because of a blister in 2007 ensured that he would be at his best come October -- and was he ever.

The tingling is what makes you worry because it's only a few steps from there to Tommy John surgery, but for all the reasons stated above, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Let's also not ignore how convenient this is for Beckett and the club. They have an off day Thursday so they won't have to call up anyone for a spot start. As for Beckett, he's been battered by Toronto this season, posting a 16.71 ERA in two starts against the Jays.

Watching his start Sunday my first thought wasn't that he was hurt, but that he was tipping his pitches. I've had a friend tell me that he could tell what pitch Beckett was going to throw when he was watching him on television earlier this season. And Boston Globe blogger Chad Finn pointed out after Beckett's clunker Sunday that Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg had the same job in Florida when Beckett pitched there.

Other tidbits from Camden Yards:

- Oriole Park let its 50 millionth fan through the gates this afternoon, the quickest any stadium has reached that threshold and a tribute to how this park changed Major League Baseball as we know it. This is still one of the very best parks in baseball, no matter how many other teams have tried to copy it's design over the last decade. It has modern amenities, but a vintage feel without being overly family friendly and Disneyland-esque. It doesn't try too hard, and baseball is still the main attraction, as it should be.

For the first time in awhile, it seems like a team worthy of the park might soon be inhabiting it.

- Julio Lugo is starting to make progress toward returning from the disabled list, but considering how Jed Lowrie has played in his stead (.850 OPS), it seems unlikely he'll have an everyday job once he's healthy.

Francona was non-commital when asked what Lugo's role would be when he returned, refusing to make a decision at least two weeks before he will have to, but the Red Sox certainly aren't afraid to replace an established regular with a rookie who is outperforming him. Look no further than Jacoby Ellsbury in September of 2007.

- This is the first time I've been in the Red Sox clubhouse since Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers. When Boston last visited Baltimore, Manny was happy, the reggaeton blared from his locker and he high-fived a fan on his way to an improbable double play.

I have no idea what happened with Manny between then and now. The clubhouse has a different vibe -- no better or worse than it was before -- just different. Before Manny and David Ortiz seemed to rule the roost. Interestingly enough, it seems like Boston farmhands are beginning to take over.

It makes sense. As much as the Red Sox are known for nabbing pricy free agents, for being a slightly less Evil Empire than the Yankees, they employ a bunch of players making less than $1 million and groomed in their minor league system. Many of those players -- from Clay Buchholz to Kevin Youkilis to Dustin Pedroia to Jed Lowrie -- have known each other much longer than they've been major leaguers.